Standoff nets arrest

Thursday

Apr 4, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 4, 2013 at 10:30 AM

STOCKTON - A man who was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder surrendered to authorities Wednesday following a 90-minute standoff that stopped traffic and attracted large crowds outside a central Stockton motel.

Jason Anderson

STOCKTON - A man who was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder surrendered to authorities Wednesday following a 90-minute standoff that stopped traffic and attracted large crowds outside a central Stockton motel.

The standoff began shortly after 3:30 p.m. when U.S. marshals saw 26-year-old Alejandro "Looney" Ruvalcaba walk from one room to another at a motel in the 1100 block of North Wilson Way, authorities said. Ruvalcaba, a documented gang member, was wanted in connection with a March 21 shooting in the 1000 block of East Lindsay Street that left a man in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

The Stockton Police Department's Community Response Team, members of the multiagency San Joaquin County gang task force and U.S. marshals surrounded the motel and instructed Ruvalcaba to come out, but he refused, authorities said. A SWAT team soon arrived in the Lenco BearCat G3, a 17,000-pound, military-style vehicle that is used to serve high-risk warrants.

Hundreds gathered along surrounding streets as officers trained automatic weapons on the motel, but onlookers were pushed back to safe distances to keep civilians out of the line of fire. South Wilson Way was closed between East Roosevelt and Pinchot streets until the standoff ended.

Police used a bullhorn to order Ruvalcaba and all other occupants of rooms 104 and 105 to come out with their hands up. A number of men and women emerged from the rooms before Ruvalcaba finally surrendered shortly after 5 p.m.

Ruvalcaba, who has the word "Stockton" tattooed above his left eye, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. Six others were detained for questioning. Loaded weapons were found in both rooms Ruvalcaba occupied, authorities said.

"This investigation was a collaborative effort between the Stockton Police Department, the countywide gang task force and the U.S. marshals," said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Police Department. "This arrest is another example in the ongoing effort of the Stockton Police Department to target the most violent criminals in the city."